The meeting was attended by foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, China And South Africa

New Delhi: BRICS member states on Tuesday reaffirmed the need for a comprehensive reform of the United Nations, including its Security Council, to make it more representative, effective and efficient, and to increase the representation of the developing countries so that it can adequately respond to global challenges.

During the BRICS foreign ministers, China and Russia reiterated the importance they attach to the status and role of Brazil, India and South Africa in international affairs and supported their aspiration to play a greater role in the UN.

The meeting was attended by Brazil Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Alberto Franco Franca, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor.

The ministers issued a joint statement following the meeting in which they acknowledged that the current interconnected international challenges should be addressed through a reinvigorated and the reformed multilateral system.

The ministers also commended India and South Africa for their respective present and recent terms served in the UN Security Council. They also recognized the candidacy of Brazil as a UN Security Council member for the 2022-2023 biennium.

"The ministers recalled the 2005 World Summit Outcome document and reaffirmed the need for a comprehensive reform of the UN, including its Security Council, with a view to making it more representative, effective and efficient, and to increase the representation of the developing countries so that it can adequately respond to global challenges. China and Russia reiterated the importance they attach to the status and role of Brazil, India and South Africa in international affairs and supported their aspiration to play a greater role in the UN," the statement read.

According to a joint statement, the ministers called for continued efforts to strengthen the system of arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation treaties and agreements and to preserve its integrity for maintaining global stability and international peace and security.

They also stressed further the need to maintain the effectiveness and efficiency as well as the consensus-based nature of the relevant multilateral instruments in the field of disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control.

The ministers acknowledged that global economic governance in an increasingly interconnected world is of critical importance for the success of national efforts for achieving sustainable development in all countries.

"The ministers stressed the need to restore the normal functioning of all WTO's functions as highlighted in the Joint Statement by BRICS Trade Ministers on Multilateral Trading System and the WTO Reform of 2020. They emphasized the primary importance of ensuring the restoration and preservation of the normal functioning of a two-stage WTO Dispute Settlement system, including the expeditious appointment of all Appellate Body members," the statement read.